The Ga. 400 tolls will end in November, a bit earlier than the state expected to, according to Malika Reed Wilkins, a spokeswoman with the State Road and Tollway Authority.

In an emailed response Monday to questions about the tolls ceasing, Wilkins wrote, “the tolls are slated to end the week before Thanks giving 2013, weather permitting.”

In July Gov. Nathan Deal announced the state would stop the tolls on Ga. 400 by the end of 2013, after the state paid off its bond debt Dec. 1.

Though the tolls will end in November, the toll plaza will not be torn down until after the holidays, so shoppers traveling to nearby malls will not be delayed by the work, though construction will begin in October, Wilkins wrote.

“Heavy construction will resume in late January or early February 2014,” she wrote. “All construction will be completed by May 31, 2014. Detailed plans are currently being developed and details will be available in the coming months.”

During the period between Thanksgiving and Jan. 1, only three lanes will be available for drivers.

“The toll booths will not be torn down completely when the tolls end, but will be closed off to traffic by using barrels and barriers,” Wilkins wrote. “Once tolls end, motorists will use the two all-electronic lanes and one newly created lane (through restriping the shoulder) to move through Ga. 400. … Also when restriping the shoulder to make the third lane, it’s the inner shoulder in between the all-electronic lane and the first toll booth lane, not the outer shoulder.”

The toll plaza demolition is expected to cost $4.5 million, she wrote, adding the authority will host public information open houses in late summer and early fall. She also wrote the total number of lanes closed during the teardown of the toll plaza has not been determined yet, and construction will not take place during holidays. The authority will pay for the demolition.

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